e-Audio, 07:37:51
Narrated by: Soneela Nankani
Release Date: September 22, 2020
Published by: HMH Books
Read from: December 7-9, 2020
Maya and the Rising Dark, #1
Source: Library
TW: Violence
For fans of: Mythology, Adventure, Action, Fantasy, MG, POC MC, POC on CoverTwelve-year-old Maya’s search for her missing father puts her at the center of a battle between our world, the Orishas, and the mysterious and sinister Dark world.
Twelve-year-old Maya is the only one in her South Side Chicago neighborhood who witnesses weird occurrences like werehyenas stalking the streets at night and a scary man made of shadows plaguing her dreams. Her friends try to find an explanation—perhaps a ghost uprising or a lunchroom experiment gone awry. But to Maya, it sounds like something from one of Papa’s stories or her favorite comics.
When Papa goes missing, Maya is thrust into a world both strange and familiar as she uncovers the truth. Her father is the guardian of the veil between our world and the Dark—where an army led by the Lord of Shadows, the man from Maya’s nightmares, awaits. Maya herself is a godling, half orisha and half human, and her neighborhood is a safe haven. But now that the veil is failing, the Lord of Shadows is determined to destroy the human world and it’s up to Maya to stop him. She just hopes she can do it in time to attend Comic-Con before summer’s over.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I don’t read a lot of MG novels, but when I do, they always have a certain kind of plot. And this one was definitely like my usual. There was action, adventure, and mythology, and just everything I needed to really fall for this MG.
Maya has been having some weird things happen to her. She saw the world turn gray, werehyenas, and more. She doesn’t say anything because she doesn’t want anyone to think something’s wrong with her. But then out of nowhere her dad tells her what he really is and what that means for her. But then, her dad goes missing and Maya knows the only way to make sure she saves him… Is if she does it herself.
There’s not much I didn’t like about this book. I LOVED the plot. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book about African mythology and Orishas. This story gave me thoughts of an African Percy Jackson. (Still love Tristan Strong, this is just a different side of African mythology) Even I learned a lot from this book. I looked up all the Orisha as I read them and found out some really interesting facts.
I also loved the characters. Maya was bad ass. She wasn’t as confident (as most chosen one troupes aren’t) in the beginning, but as the book goes on, she changes and so do her friends. I also loved her friends as well. They weren’t the golden trio, but they were still pretty great. With one of them having an obsession with science, the other having an obsession with ghosts, I thought they made a pretty interesting combo. As it turns out, they always work together really well.
The only thing I wish this had was a bit more humor. With MG I feel like I’m supposed to laugh the whole time. Like humor is what makes the MG reader keep reading. But this one had SOME, but it wasn’t that much. Maybe this is just me comparing every MG I read to Percy Jackson, but I just wanted more. I wanted more. I know this is probably only me thinking this, but still…
This was a pretty cool MG that I wasn’t expecting to like as much as I did. Which I don’t know why since this was by Rena Barron. Maybe because it’s a MG. Whatever the case may be, I’m super happy this was so good. I can’t wait to see what the next book in the series is like.
Overall, I give this
